The 12th annual Ring a Bell campaign, in support of positive mental health, is underway.
Co-ordinated jointly by Dots NB / Partners for Youth Inc. and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the goal of the campaign is to raise awareness and inspire youth, their families and communities to take positive action in support of mental health.
The theme for the 2022 campaign is the importance of community.
During the campaign, mental health lesson plans and activities will be used in classrooms across the province. This awareness effort will culminate as students in kindergarten through Grade 8 provincewide are invited to show their support by ringing bells for one minute over Dec 1-2. Ringing bells are meant to draw attention to the importance of ensuring the mental health needs of children are met and their voices are heard.
This year, Sunbury West School in Fredericton Junction will host the provincial bell-ringing ceremony.
“Continuing dialogue, education and awareness are areas that have been identified by the New Brunswick Youth Council as priorities. Opportunities like the Ring A Bell Campaign are a way communities can come together to challenge the stigma that still exists and to let every young person know that they are not alone and that it is brave to ask for help,” says Cindy Miles, director of community and government partnerships for Partners for Youth.
Along with classroom activities and the bell-ringing event, schools can submit videos, poems, posters or songs, which will be shared on multiple social media platforms. A prize of $250 will be awarded to an elementary and middle school with submissions chosen by the New Brunswick Youth Council.
